


Redemption

by KindOfCoffee



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Betrayal, Enemies to Friends, Hurt, Slow Burn, friends to ???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:21:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25547341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KindOfCoffee/pseuds/KindOfCoffee
Summary: AU based on the concept art of an older Abby infiltrating Jackson to get to Joel.Abby hadn‘t planned this, but here she was, in Jackson. Set on destroying the life of the man who had destroyed her families‘ lives nearly two decades ago. Gaining his friendship, even his trust. Getting to know him, finding his weakest spots, and marking them all down for later.It was nearly too easy. There was only one problem: She started to like him.
Relationships: Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us), Joel & Tommy (The Last of Us), Joel (The Last of Us)/Original Character(s), Joel/Abby
Comments: 9
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

Abby couldn‘t remember the last time her feet were dry. Hiking through these parts of the mountains was exhausting, and was made indefinitely worse by the damp cloth clinging to her skin. Occasionally her feet made small squeaky sounds every time her boots connected to the ground, as if to complain about the onslaught of climbing and walking and sliding and swimming. 

“Fuck this, Abby. Seriously“, groaned a deep voice behind her, vocalizing her own annoyance. “If I wanted blisters and a sunburn, I would‘ve stayed in fucking Denver scouting caravans.“

“Come on now Mikey, it‘s not that bad“, Lauren protested further down the line. “Besides, you‘re the one always going on and on about training and staying fit and doing cardio.“ 

Although Lauren responded in a cheerful voice, her labored breathing was clearly audible from several feet away. To be fair, they were both right. 

She stopped to take in her surroundings. The path they were on right now was steep and overgrown, but they could still regularly make out signs pointing up and up and up towards a picnic area and some sort of guest center. They had started on this hiking path a solid half day ago, cutting down vegetation with a machete that Lauren had traded a suitcase full of supplies for. Branches and bushes breaching over the path seemed less and less intrusive the higher they climbed, but the more accomodating vegetation couldn‘t make up for the heat. It put an unexpected strain on their bodies that they weren’t really prepared for this time of the year.

Still: The guy who she had bought this map from had told her to strictly stick to the path (not that she had planned otherwise), warning her that the climb felt much longer than it actually was. 

“We should be 15 minutes out“, Abby assessed, looking back at her tight-knit group with a hand shielding her eyes from the setting sun. 

“If we‘re actually going into the right direction.“

Jet shrugged and wiped sweat off his forehead. It had taken days convincing him of her plan and she could see in his face that he was just here as a courtesy call. All this shared history and he was still… soft. 

No point arguing with him now.

Abby sighed. “Yes.“ 

“Well good thing we’re on right on track then“, nodded Mike and pushed past her, taking over the lead. “The supplies better be there“, he grunted when he passed her, making sure the others couldn‘t overhear him. 

Abby bit her lip. They had taken on a massive risk, trading away the majority of their equipment, even their car, for a set up half of the group wasn‘t even sure would work. 

But it was too late to go back now. With the grace of God they‘d be in Jackson in a week. And every wet sock, every sunburn, every bit of sacrifice would be worth it then. They could only move forward.

* * *

“Say something.“

He looked up at Ellie. Her voice was quiet, insecurity echoing with every syllable. She sounded almost scared, longing for his support yet too stubborn to admit it. Joel remembered his own version of that voice all too well, even after nearly four decades. He swallowed. 

“It‘s gonna be alright“, was the first thing to come out of his mouth, but from the way Ellie‘s lips pressed together to form a thin line, Joel knew immediately it had been the wrong thing to say.

“Of course it‘s going to be alright“, Ellie said. “I just–“ 

She took a deep breath. 

All this progress they had made since the Winter Ball, all the little moments in which she could nearly feel herself belong here, with him, in Jackson – she didn‘t want to lose that. Ellie had sworn to herself to try. But she was still mad at him, and Joel continuously trying to fix her life for her didn‘t make it any easier. 

As if reading her mind, he chimed in before she could continue. “Tell me what I can do, and I‘ll do it.“

He sounded earnest, and that made her relax a little, her jaw unclenching as her eyes searched for his. 

_Why was this so hard?_

“I... want to move in with Dina. Fix up the place so it‘s ready for fall, so I can be there for her and… the baby.“ Ellie paused, but her old man looked down at his hands, clinging to a cup of tea. “It‘s not gonna be now or next week, and I‘m not asking you. But I wanted to tell you, because I hope that we can still… hang out.“

He smiled up at her. “Anytime, kiddo.“ There was nothing that could break this bond between them. Her moving out to care for her pregnant girlfriend wasn‘t high up on his wishlist, but if that‘s the card he was dealt, he would work with it. 

Ellie leaned back in her chair, more comfortable now that the cat was out of the bag. She chuckled. “Can you imagine? Jesse holding a baby? Hell, Dina holding a baby?!“

“Sounds like you‘re gonna be doing a lot of baby holding, too“, Joel teased, raising an eyebrow.

Ellie grinned in disbelief. “I know, right?“


	2. Chapter 2

"You sure about this?" Joel shot his brother a sceptical look. “I don’t see anythin’ unusual out there.”

“Give me that”, Tommy complained and pointed at the binoculars. His mouth hung open as he used them, scouting over the outer edges of the mountain paths. 

“There!”, he exclaimed triumphantly and gestured towards Joel to come over and take his place, keeping the binoculars steady in mid-air. “Have a look.” When he was sufficiently satisfied his brother could see what he wanted to show him, he smirked. “The old camping ground up there. Monica and Eric reported smoke coming from somewhere around that area. It _has_ to be that spot.”

Joel sighed. It was one thing to have a patrol report something that looked like a campfire. But a camp right up an overgrown path that hadn’t seen any traffic in years? That could only mean one of two things: Inexperienced survivors. Or, worse: Hunter ambush. 

“You think it’s a trap?” Tommy swiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. They knew each other well enough to tell when the other felt something was off. 

“Ah, I don’t know. We got lots of tourists these days, so who knows.” Shrugging, Joel turned to his horse. “Either way, we gotta check it out.”

The ride to the campsite wasn’t half bad. Flowers were blooming in the surrounding meadows, spring reclaiming its territory after a particularly cold winter. As if to make up for the masses of snow and ice, this April had been rather dry and warm, the sun beating down on them constantly. If they didn’t see any significant rain fall soon, their crops were set out for a challenging summer, greenhouses or not. 

When they arrived at the hiking trail leading up to the campsite, the path was too dense to keep riding. 

With a cheerful whistle, Tommy swung off his horse. “Looks like it’s hiking time!” 

Joel stared at his younger brother, raising an eyebrow. “What are you on about today? I’ve never seen you so… cheerful. On patrol.”

“Ha, nothin’, really. Just a had real nice time with Maria last night”, Tommy replied, swaggering towards the overgrown bushes and branches. 

Joel snorted, following him through the green. “You finally hit the spot, huh?” 

“You seriously wanna go there?” The younger man turned back towards Joel and chuckled, but his brother just rolled his eyes, trying to hide a smile. 

“No, but really”, Tommy continued, “the traders that came through the other day. They had one of them dresses she likes so much. So I got it for her.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Maria in a dress.” Joel stepped over a trunk blocking the way, his brother already several steps ahead of him. If they kept up the speed, the pair could make it to the campsite before noon. 

Tommy turned around, grinning. “That’s because she---”

And with that, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update! Struggled a bit with this filler, but hopefully some brotherly banter makes up for that. Stay tuned, as the next chapter will see some unexpected encounters.


	3. Chapter 3

The scream sounded brutal. Painful. And way too close.

They all froze. 

“I told you we should have buried them”, whispered Jet. 

“It’s not because of the damn clothes”, Mike whispered back, before pointing down the hill. “There was some movement further down the path.”

“You don’t even know if someone came because of the clothes or not!” Jet seemed to be seriously offended, brown curls framing his reddening cheeks. Abby sighed. Jet was young, much younger than her and Mike, and while he was usually a sweetheart, he was also a hothead. And Mike… well, he was direct, loyal, and _very_ impatient.

Last night, they had debated whether they should burn or bury their old clothes for forty minutes, before Mike had simply stood up, walked over, and set them on fire by himself. Now they were struggling down the hiking trail in the shoddy caravan clothes they had traded their equipment for – hoping that the traders kept their end of the bargain and would take them with their wares into Jackson. They would only need a day or two, maybe even only a few hours during the night. If, that was, their intel paid out and they weren’t being tricked.

“Guys, now is not the time.” Abby shot both of them a look and then nodded towards the path. The group quieted down, trying to find out where the scream just came from. 

“I think we’re much closer to him than you think“, whispered Lauren from the back. 

She didn‘t really belong here. Unlike Abby, Mike, and Jet, she didn‘t have a personal agenda for going to Jackson, other than supporting her friends. One day a long time ago, the group paid a medic in a backalley in the Philly QZ an absurd amount of equipment to stitch up Jet’s arm after he’d fallen through a glass door. During the two days that he stayed in that makeshift clinic, Jet fell head over heels for the doctor. That man had been Lauren‘s brother. Today she considered all of them her family.

And she was right about the scream. It took them only a couple of minutes until they found the trail cleared from overgrowth. Scouting their surroundings they spotted two men down a slope, huddled together between bushes and trees. 

The group exchanged looks. If those were the traders then those traders were exceptionally stupid. Unfortunately, Abby thought, Jet was right. Most likely scenario was that someone in Jackson had spotted the smoke from the fire last night and set out to investigate, trying to climb up the hill they now descended down from to get to the abandoned picknick area. 

If this was the case, they only had this one shot to come up with a new story and talk their way into town. 

As risk she was willing to take. 

Abby cleared her throat. “Hey.“

It was rare that someone pulled a gun that quickly on her, but one of the men somehow managed to simultaneously stand up, scan their group, and aim at her head. He looked old, older than her, with wet strands of hair sticking to his face. Sweat was running down his temples. 

Mike was reaching for his own gun, but Abby put a hand on his arm. Silently, she shook her head no. 

No one said a word for what felt like an hour, but was basically just a very long minute. 

Eventually, the old guy talked. “First time in Jackson?“, he asked, without lowering his weapon. It was the unfriendliest smalltalk opener Abby had heard in a while. The other man leaned against a tree, his leg looking… crushed. 

Abby tried to sound as casual as possible. “Yeah… we‘re already there? We were supposed to meet up with some traders to take us into town, but then we heard a scream and came down here.“ 

_Sticking as close to the truth as possible_. No one needed to know that the traders were compensated generously for the potential fallout for her actions in Jackson, and that the middlemen who had arranged for this (and who had taken the group‘s car in return) kept an escape route open for another whole week.

“I‘m Abby. That‘s Mike, Jet, and Lauren“, she added. No muscle in his face moved, he just stared at them, thinking. 

_He‘s not buying it_ , thought Abby. _Fuck_. 

But then the other guy spoke. 

“It‘s okay“, he said calmly, giving everyone a reassuring smile. “Maybe we can help each other.“

“Tommy––“

“I‘m Tommy, and that‘s my brother, Joel. Pleasure to meet y‘all.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THEY HAVE MET now to the fun part haha


	4. Chapter 4

She couldn‘t breathe. It was him. Searching for years, travelling throughout the country, and then she just stumbled into him. Him. It really was him.

The hurt one, Tommy, smiled reassuringly, gesturing towards himself and his brother, _Joel_ , while introducing themselves.

_I‘m Tommy, and that‘s my brother, Joel. Pleasure to meet y‘all._

Abby‘s target frowned, then lowered his gun.

And Abby couldn‘t breathe.

It was all too much, too quick. She had pictured this moment so many times. Laid out all the words she was going to say. All the things she was going to do. And if she were, say, one or two decades younger, she wouldn‘t have hesitated and already would have put as many bullets into his body as she could get in before getting shot herself.

But now, she couldn‘t do any of that. Instead, she swallowed slowly.

“I‘m…“ She couldn‘t finish her sentence.

They were all quiet. She could feel Mike seething with rage behind her, his breath vibrating quietly. Maybe it was only in her head? Yet she felt as if she could cut the unspoken tension with a knife. They were all too quiet for far too long. Or weren‘t they? It all took hours or seconds. Abby was far past being able to tell.

“I‘m Jet, and these are my friends, Abby, Mike, and Lauren“, interrupted Jet, pointing at them. “Guess we‘re all not really used to folks being nice and welcoming to us“, he added, offering the two men an apologetic smile.

“That‘s alright“, replied Tommy, “but we‘re good folks out here. Even more of us down in Jackson. Right, brother?“

Joel hadn‘t taken his eyes off of the woman they had just introduced as Abby. For a second, he thought he recognized her. A memory, or better, a fragment of a memory, fading as soon as it appeared. A glimpse of someone, somewhere, some time ago. Or was he imagining things?

“Right.“

He scanned her face again, searching for a clue, but couldn‘t find any. She was in her 40s. Her wrinkles were contouring the freckles on her cheeks, and her lips were pressed into a thin line. She had an earnest look on her face which was accentuated by the high bun she was wearing her hair in. Her skin looked sunburnt from a recent hike, a too big shirt barely hid the arms and torso of a fighter.

“Do you need a hand?“

Abby interrupted his trail of thoughts, nodding past him towards Tommy. “That leg doesn‘t look so good.“

“No shit“, laughed Tommy. “I was just explaining that to my idiot brother.“

Joel holstered his gun and turned to face him. “I can carry you back“, he attempted once more. “It‘s not that far.“

But his brother just shook his head. They both knew they weren‘t going to make it down together. At least not with just the two of them. Leaves and branches rustled as Lauren squeezed through. She was so much shorter than all of them, Abby thought. Tiny.

Crouching down next to Tommy, Lauren calmly started to examine the leg – pressing down a little here, asking for the type of feeling there. Abby watched her, fascinated by her routine, when a low voice growled into her ear, his words barely a whisper: “What the fuck, Abby?“

“I need more time“, she whispered back. It was the truth. Both Joel and his goddamn brother had turned their backs. She could shoot them in the head right now and get it over with. Except – she couldn‘t.

Abby put her hand on Mike’s arm. “Do you trust me?“, she asked. He rolled his eyes, then nodded. Yes, he trusted her. Always had, always would. That was all she needed.

 _Good_.

“So, Lauren… any chance we can get this show on the road?“

Her friend looked up and smiled. “It‘s broken. But I‘m pretty sure that if we fix it in place with some branches, he should be able to ride.“ Tommy winked at her. “For a little while, at least“, Lauren added cheerfully, and stood up. 

“You sure about this?“, asked Joel, and Lauren nodded. But he didn‘t ask her. In fact, they all didn‘t really seem to matter to him. Only when his brother softened his smile did he relax. 

“A hundred percent“, Tommy announced. 

If Joel had learned anything in those years in Jackson, then that there was no use trying to change his brother‘s mind when it was set on something. “Well then“, he said. “We‘ll better find you some goddamn branches.“

And that‘s how Abby ended up in Jackson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey again! it‘s a busy time for me right now but I‘m as dedicated on updating regularly as Tommy is on rejecting Joel‘s one-man-show-act. :D
> 
> btw I read all your comments and I appreciate them all so much! Thank you all for sticking with this <3


End file.
